Two Burrs from Eric Fuller (Burr Circus and Uranus)

Burr Circus and Uranus

So I've taken a break from puzzling to bring you all another review. This review is on an increasing addiction of mine (don't worry, it's still puzzling!!) but rather a type of puzzle, Burrs.

Burr puzzles are interlocking puzzles and are so called because their finished shape resembles a seed burr, apparently!! The usual six piece burr has a distinct shape with three sets of two cuboids, side by side, interlocking in all the three dimensions.

Anywho, although you may see lots of these burr puzzles around, they are each a lot different (apart from possibly the cheaper mass produced ones).

Burr Circus

These ones I'm reviewing today are made exquisitely by Eric Fuller, which I bought off Cubic Dissection. Both are made out of beautiful woods and to a very high standard, with a nice snug fit and still enough room in case the woods swell from summer humidity (which is unlikely in overcast-Britain!!!).

The first one is called Burr Circus and was designed by Stewart Coffin and is made of beautiful Purpleheart.

This may look slightly different from a normal six piece burr but it's still a burr. Also, it may look fairly simple, and compared the second burr it is, but it's by no means easy!!

Burr Circus disassembled

This you will only realise when the burr is disassembled and the pieces muddled up. Although all the pieces are cut the same, they are all slightly different, and until you try and put the burr back together you won't realise exactly how different each of the pieces are. Mine came disassembled, so it was quite a shock and pleasantly surprising just how different it was.

I can't say any more about this one without spoiling it, but I will say, with a burr of this type, (all the pieces touching edges instead of whole sides), you have to assemble all the pieces at the same time which requires a large amount of dexterity. Regardless, I definitely enjoyed putting it together.

Uranus

The second burr from Eric is called Uranus and was designed by Junichi Yananose and is made in Canarywood.

This burr is my favourite burr that I own, (so far!!), mainly because when it's in it's completed state, it looks like a normal burr, however, none of the pieces move. With a normal six piece burr, there is one piece that will move to enable you to start disassembling the burr. However, with this one, there is not, and it's that "trick" that makes this burr special and my favourite.

Uranus disassembled

Once again, I received this burr disassembled, so the "trick" was obvious, however, that didn't make it any easier to put together and because this was my first burr to solve (I solved this one before the Burr Circus) it took me quite a while!!

But again, I thoroughly enjoyed solving this burr as well. This is a level six burr, meaning it takes six moves to remove the first piece, and it's those moves that I really like, both disassembling and assembling.

I'd definitely recommend the Uranus burr to anyone, just a shame about the name!!

That's all for now!!!